Meeting Report
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Meeting report International conference Rotterdam, the Netherlands 29 September – 1 October 2010 Meeting report Deltas in Times of Climate Change 29 September – 1 October 2010 Rotterdam, the Netherlands COLOPHON Editors Marjolein Pijnappels, Florrie de Pater, Ottelien van Steenis Contributions Nick van Barneveld, Carolina Barria Marmolejo, Renée de Bruin, Tom Bucx, Magdy Salah El Deen, Frank Delhij, Kees Dorland, Aldo Dorsman, Wim van Driel, Corjan Gebraad, Daniel Goedbloed, Pieter de Greef, Sofia Groot, Cees van de Guchte, Samia El Guindy, Jim Hall, Marit Heinen, Kirsten Hollaender, Karel van Hussen, Karst Keijzers, Marijn Kuitert, Nikki Lintmeyer, Lode Messemakers, Stefania Munaretto, Kim van Nieuwaal, Pieter Otten, Jorg Pieneman, Marjolein Pijnappels, Kaj van de Sandt, Evelien Schilperoord, Baud Schoenmaeckers, Aart Schrevel, Radha Sewtahal, Monique Slegers, Jos Streng, Michael van der Valk, Peter van Veelen, Jeroen Veraart, William Verbeek, Pauline de Vries, Walter de Vries, Wouter Wolters, Berend van Zeggeren Photo’s Sebastiaan Knot, Noor van Mierlo Contact Deltas in Times of Climate Change Organizing Committee The Netherlands T +31 317 48 6540 E o.van.steenis(at)programmabureauklimaat.nl DELTAS IN TIMES OF CLIMATE CHANGE 4 5 CONTENTS 11 Preface 12 PL Opening session 17 Deltas in Depth Theme 1: Regional climate, sea level rise, storm surges, river run-off and coastal flooding 17 Session DD 1.1: Sea level rise, storm surges and coastal processes (part 1) 18 Session DD 1.2: Sea level rise, storm surges and coastal processes (part 2) 19 Session DD 1.3: Precipitation, discharge and flooding (part 1) 20 Session DD 1.4: Precipitation, discharge and flooding (part 2) 21 Session DD 1.5: Adaptation, risk and vulnerability 24 Deltas in Depth Theme 2: Freshwater availability under sea level rise and climate change 24 Session DD 2.1: General picture 26 Session DD 2.2: Freshwater availability under sea level rise and climate change: Freshwater supply and salinisation in developing countries 28 Session DD 2.3: Salinisation in South-West Netherlands 31 Deltas in Depth Theme 3: Climate change and estuarine ecosystems 31 Session DD 3.1: Climate change and estuarine ecosystems 33 Session DD 3.2: Impact of climate change on estuaries round the world (part 2) 36 Deltas in Depth Theme 4: Climate change and climate proofing urban areas 36 Session DD 4.1: Climate change and climate proofing urban areas: adaptation strategies in urban areas 37 Session DD 4.2: Climate change and climate proofing urban areas: flood risks and water management in the urban environment 39 Session DD 4.3: Climate change assessment and adaptation methods 40 Session DD 4.4: Urban adaptation in Rotterdam and other Dutch cities 42 Deltas in Depth Theme 5: Competing claims and land use in deltas under climate change 42 Session DD 5.1: Impacts and adaptation strategies 44 Session DD 5.2: Generating and evaluating potential solutions 45 Session DD 5.3: Implementation and design 48 Deltas in Depth Theme 6: Governance and economics of climate adaptation 48 Session DD 6.1: The governance of climate adaptation: international comparison 49 Session DD 6.2: Regional strategies of climate adaptation: concepts and Dutch examples 50 Session DD 6.3: The economics of climate adaptation 52 Deltas in Depth Theme 7: Decision support instruments for climate adaptation policy 52 Session DD 7.1: DSS – improving their communicative power 53 Session DD 7.2: DSS – enhancing decision making 54 Session DD 7.3: Methods – CBA/MCA 55 Session DD 7.4: Methods – scenarios 56 Session DD 7.5: Methods – Novel approaches 58 Deltas in Depth Theme 8: Climate change and health in delta areas 58 Session DD 8.1: Climate change and health in delta areas 61 Deltas in Depth Theme 9: Managing risks of extreme climate events 61 Session DD 9.1: Quantifying climate risks 63 Session DD 9.2: Managing climate extremes in practice 6 29 SEPTEMBER - 1 OCTOBER 2010 ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS 7 CONTENTS CONTENTS 66 Deltas in Practice Theme 1: Finance and economy 109 Delta Sessions 66 Session DP FE 1.1: Emerging new modalities for financing 109 Delta Session DS 1: Regional Elbe/Hamburg 67 Session DP FE 1.2: Methodologies for costs and effects of adaptation options at global, national and local 109 Delta Session DS 2: Po Delta and the Venice Lagoon level 111 Delta Session DS 3: Nile 69 Session DP FE 1.3: Economic concepts for socio-economic vitality and biodiversity 112 Delta Session DS 4: Thames Estuary 114 Delta Session DS 6: Vietnam / Mekong Delta 70 Deltas in Practice Theme 2: Urban planning and infrastructure 116 Delta Session DS 7: Rhine Delta 70 Session DP UP 2.1: Adapting to Urban Heat Island effects 118 Delta Session DS 9: The lowland deltas of Indonesia 71 Session DP UP 2.2a: Urban Levees, Integration of water safety and spatial planning 72 Session DP UP 2.2b: Sustainable coastal protection 121 Round Tables 73 Session DP UP 2.3a: Innovations in water infrastructure and urban design (part 1) 121 Round Table RT1: Financing adaptation 74 Session DP UP 2.3b: Innovations in water infrastructure and urban design (part 2) 122 Round Table RT2: Role building community in climate adaptation 75 Session DP UP 2.4: Planning for ports and waterways 124 Round Table RT3: Role of cities 76 Session DP UP 2.6: Developing Delta Cities, Strategies for climate change in developing countries 126 DA Delta Alliance Cooperation: Showcasing Inter-Delta Cooperation 78 Deltas in Practice Theme 3: Governance 127 DA DeltaCompetition 2010 Awards 78 Session DP GV 3.1: Dealing with uncertainties in planning. From concepts to tools and the needs for capacity building 128 PL The Benefit of International Delta Cooperation - Launch of the Delta Alliance 79 Session DP GV 3.2: Governance capacity for climate adaptation 81 Session DP GV 3.3: Adaptation Strategies in delta cities 130 PL Plenary closing session 83 Session DP GV 3.4: Transitions and the role of change management 84 Session DP GV 3.5: Climate adaptation conclusions, recommendations and applications 86 Deltas in Practice Theme 4: Flood risk management 86 Session DP FR 4.1: Smart Flood control in Deltas 87 Session DP FR 4.3: Strengthening resilience of delta communities 89 Session DPFR 4.4: Sinking Deltas 91 Session DP FR 4.5: Preparing for an uncertain future 92 Session DPFR 4.6: The need for flexibility in engineering systems and processes to deal with climate change: perspectives from the private sector 94 Deltas in Practice Theme 5: Resources and Ecology 94 Session DP RE 5.1a: Connectivity in water resources, options for transboundary water management 96 Session DP RE 5.1: Guidance on water related adaptation 97 Session DP RE 5.2: Green Adaptation – optimal use of ecosystem services to adapt to the effects of climate change in transition countries 98 Session DP RE 5.3: Mekong at the crossroads 100 Session DP RE 5.4: Freshwater storage in brackish groundwater: how can we make it work? 101 Session DP RE 5.5: Deltas in Europe opportunities for research ad policy collaboration 103 Deltas in Practice Theme 6: Cooperation 103 DP C 6.1: Delta Alliance electronic board room session 106 Session DP C 6.3: The Business Case for Resilient Buildings 8 DELTAS IN TIMES OF CLIMATE CHANGE 29 SEPTEMBER - 1 OCTOBER 2010 ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS 9 PREfacE We are proud to present the comprehensive report of the first international delta conference Deltas in Times of Climate Change in Rotterdam. The three day conference that took place in Rotterdam from 29 September - 1 October 2010 was a tremendous success. The conference attracted over 1.150 participants from all over the world and from different backgrounds: science, policy and practice. The participants debated climate adaptation strategies for deltas and delta cities and exchanged knowledge, which was widely offered in 70+ sessions. Many contacts between scientists, policy makers and practitioners were established, refreshed and deepened. Relations between delta cities in and outside Connecting Delta Cities (CDC) were strengthened and the Delta Alliance was launched. High profile guests during the opening session included His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange, who gave the opening speech, Nguyen Thai Lai (Vice Minister, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam), Ahmed Aboutaleb (Mayor of Rotterdam), Delta Commissioner Wim Kuijken and Cedric Grant (Deputee Mayor of New Orleans), who gave a moving presentation on the state of New Orleans five years after Katrina. The audience was updated on the state of climate change research by Michael Oppenheimer (Princeton University, USA) and Martin Parry (Imperial College London, United Kingdom). Pavel Kabat (Climate changes Spatial Planning, the Netherlands) gave a presentation on Dutch climate research and Malcom Smith (architect at ARUP, United Kingdom) triggered the audience with a few challenging thoughts. The opening session was closed with the Deltas of the Future Award Ceremony. New ideas were shared and innovative thougths surfaced during the three day conference. These include: • An integrative approach is essential for deltas to adapt to climate change • Climate adaptation offers an abundance of economic opportunities, i.e. mass retrofitting and innovative building and architecture • Megacities with subsidence are extra vulnerable to climate change • Competing land claims will continue • We already have the techniques, we should focus on their application • We do not lack knowledge as much as skilled people who can practically apply adaptation measures • Health issues related to climate change are neglected • Delta cities refuse to wait for their governments to take action: they set up their own bilateral, urban and private initiatives • Delta cities demand a formalised position in the allocation of international funds The conference was hosted by two Dutch research programmes, Climate changes Spatial Planning and Knowledge for Climate, and the City of Rotterdam.